Bangladesh approves COVID antigen tests at 78 private institutions, fee set at Tk 700

The government has approved 78 hospitals, laboratories and research centres across the country to administer these tests.

The institutions will be allowed to charge Tk 700 for these tests, and an additional Tk 500 for tests to be administered at home. They will not, however, be allowed to charge more than Tk 500 for home tests, even if multiple tests are conducted at the same home.

A letter from the Directorate General of Health Services, or DGHS, signed by Md Farid Uddin Miah, a director at the agency, was sent to each of the institutions approved to carry out these tests.

“These institutions had applied for approval to conduct antigen tests,” Dr Miah told bdnews24.com. “They have fulfilled the conditions we set out and have received our approval. The ministry had previously approved these tests.”

For antigen tests mucous from the nose or mouth is collected and, instead of analysing the RNA, attempt is made to identify virus proteins in the sample. Antigens can also be detected in blood samples.

When the first case of the coronavirus was detected in Bangladesh last year, only RT-PCR tests could be used to diagnose the disease. Then, on Dec 5, the government began administering antigen tests for free.

The Health Services Division approved state policies on antigen and antibody tests at the local government level and the private healthcare sector on Mar 11.

On Jun 1, the Health Services Division sent a proposal to the DGHS to determine the price and name of the antigen test kits to diagnose COVID-19 in the private healthcare sector.

The letter, signed by Dr Md Farid Hossain Miah, said it was urgent to make antigen tests available alongside RT PCR tests in the private sector.

The DGHS proposal says the Directorate General of Drug Administration has approved two antigen test kits – Biosensor and Panbio. The approximate price of these kits is Tk 500. In consideration of the price of the kit and other costs associated with private healthcare, the price of the test may be set at Tk 700, the proposal said.